The heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system of a machine such as used in construction, mining and farming industries have a fresh air inlet plenum that is used to route fresh air into the HVAC system. This plenum typically has a panel filter arranged to extend across the front of the plenum. Typically, the panel filter is made of filter media that is semi-permeable to air flow allowing air to pass while removing the contaminants. Thus, the panel filter for the fresh air plenum helps prevent contaminants such as dirt, dust and/or other fine solids from the air being drawn into the HVAC system. The filter media may include layers of pleated paper that are held in place by a complementary-shaped housing that also can be used to help hold the filter in place at the front of the plenum.
Over time, dirt and other contaminates will collect on the filter media clogging the fresh air filter and resisting or preventing intake air from passing through the air cleaner arrangement and into the air inlet plenum. Accordingly, it is necessary to periodically replace the fresh air filter with a new filter or to remove and clean the filter. A machine typically has a variety of different types of filters, all of which must be serviced or replaced on a periodic basis. Unfortunately, the fresh air filter can require replacement more often than other machine filters such as those associated with the engine air, oil and hydraulic fluid. If the machine has to be serviced separately for replacement of the fresh air filter, machine downtime can increase.